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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins winger Conor Sheary had a handful of friends and family members, including his parents, girlfriend and grandfather, make the 60-mile drive down from Melrose, Massachusetts, to watch him play Wednesday night against the Providence Bruins.

He proceeded to put on a show for them.

Sheary scored the tying goal late in the third period and added two assists as the Penguins beat the P-Bruins, 5-4, in overtime to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I was glad I could do well in a game they were there to see,” Sheary said Thursday. “Hope I can keep it going.”

There’s no reason to think he can’t. Sheary, who has five points in five playoff games, has made a surprisingly significant postseason impact for the Penguins, who play Game 4 in Providence tonight.

An undrafted free agent out of UMass-Amherst, Sheary came in as an amateur tryout in mid-March with little fanfare but has already seemingly cemented his place among the team’s top six forwards.

“He was real consistent,” coach John Hynes said, explaining why he penciled Sheary’s name into the lineup in the first place. “Every day was the same with him, how he practiced, how he played, whether it was an ATO practice or a team practice. It was the same guy all the time. That really stood out.”

Occasionally, Sheary has looked like a rookie, like when he tries to beat an opposing defenseman one-on-one when a dump-in would be the right decision.

“In college, it was a little different,” Sheary said. “I had the puck more and I tried to beat guys. It’s a different game here. The defensemen are much better, much bigger. They have better gaps and stuff like that. Sometimes you’ve just got to get it deep and get to work down low instead of trying to be the guy.”

Most of the time, though, Sheary has looked like a polished offensive threat. He’s undersized at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, but he more than makes up for that with quickness, regularly darting in and out of open spaces in the offensive zone.

“Bigger guys kind of will their way to the net,” Sheary said. “A smaller guy like me can use their speed and try to sneak their way in there.”

His lack of size and modest amateur credentials make Sheary’s playoff success a surprise to most, but not to Sheary himself. He had confidence he could make an impact, if only he could get a jersey hung in his locker on game day.

“When I came down, I was told I didn’t know how many games I was going to play. It was going to have to be hard work that was going to get me in the lineup,” Sheary said. “From my end, I expected to be one of the better players and show my skills and stuff like that. Luckily I’ve been able to play recently. I hope to keep doing that.”

Contact the writer:

jbobmuliue@citizensvoice.com

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